1000 Miles And Searching

I’m at a Crossroads at the Moment
Monday, I drove to New Jersey from Greensboro, NC for an interview with a future employer. Right after the interview I had to turn around and drive back to Greensboro for a presentation to a potential client. That was over 1,000 miles traveled in under 32 hours. Later in the week I’m gearing up to help shoot, “World War Dead.” What the hell is going on! That is my thinking, I can’t imagine what my wife is thinking. Cancel that. I know what she is thinking, she told me when I got back.

I’m very happy working with All Aces Media and I believe what we are doing will reward us… in time. Which is banging on my door and asking for important bills. July 7th, will be one year since my position was terminated at my previous employer. I’ve done well over this past year. I’ve worked with some great clients, worked on an amazing feature film and produced a successful film festival. But something is missing. That is what my gut tells me. Food is definitely not missing, my gut can tell you that without words.

What is missing is the security of everything that I’ve worked for up to this point. And to be honest I’ve been searching for work since the day I got the boot. Each month comes up and I look forward to see if any gigs are lined up and I begin to panic. The next thing I know, I’m good for another month… but I keep projecting ahead. Another thing, all future gigs are not 100% going to happen. As a freelancer I am at the mercy of the company that hires me. Meaning sometimes the project gets moved or dropped because of the budget or other means. It happens.

I have RSS feeds coming in from over 52 cities on Craigslist. I’m listed on almost every job board site and $ubscribed to some professional job boards. I can honestly say that my success rate is way under 1% on craigslist and when I do get interests, I hear this, “You’re from Greensboro?” I’m very flexible as far as working on the road and I encourage employers to take a chance on me offering some very progressive ideas to make it work.

Insurance at an Unsure Time
My wife and I do not have any health insurance. I do want to start a family and without health insurance I don’t want to start it in bankruptcy court. She is a contractor as well, and if she misses a day or gets sick she loses money. If either of us gets an injury we walk it off. That is just the nature of the beast at this moment. To insure the both of us, it would cost over $500 a month. As a man, I of course feel terrible that I can’t find a way to protect her… but she knew that when she married me. Hell when we got married I was still delivering pizzas.

What I Want
I want it all. I want the glory of our hard work and the instant success with it. For some reason it just doesn’t work that way. I want people who receive my resume and my template cover letter to understand that I will do whatever it takes to work that gig. Just pay me my rate and don’t worry about the rest. Tell me when you need me and I’ll take care of the rest. I’m very resourceful. By the way I need places to crash in Chicago, D.C., LA, Vegas and NYC. I’m a social drinker but never socialize. I also make a mean homemade pizza crust. If that doesn’t work out I’ll take this first. A position in a creative environment that allows me to think progressively and to embrace creativity and make it happen… with full benefits.

2 responses so far ↓

I feel your pain. I’ve been a contractor for about half of my 30 year career (engineer/programmer). About five years ago I got laid off from my full-time, eight year, position at Motorola.

I’d been toying with movie making so I jumped in full time. After three or four years working free on projects here in Austin, including a year on a soap as videographer/editor/supervising editor, I began to get a few paying gigs as a camera operator.

Well, to make a long story short, I’m back contracting for a while writing software, this time at AMD. It’s a good gig but I still pour over the B&H catalog when it arrives.

My long term goal is to write, direct and produce my own stories. I’m focusing on writing right now … it’s my weakest link.

You are a good man. I will take you up on that offer. If you need a place to crash in Greensboro, let me know. B&H is tech porn. Most guys get their hands on the Victoria Secrets Catalog and drool over it. I find the B&H catalog just as sexy… oh yeah!!!